Stocks down as four-day bullish run ends

The stock market ends down on Tuesday as central bank lowers economic growth forecast.

KARACHI: The stock market ended down on Tuesday as the central bank lowered the country’s economic growth forecast.

The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) benchmark 100-share index fell 0.43 per cent or 45.56 points to end at 10,658.15.

Investors preferred to book profit as the market had gained more than two per cent in the last four trading sessions, said Topline Securities analyst Samar Iqbal.

The State Bank of Pakistan on Monday evening revised downward its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to between two and three per cent for fiscal year 2011 following the floods.

Turnover stayed in the same vicinity with 150.70 million shares during the day compared with Monday’s 158 million shares.

Following the previous day’s trend, the equity market started off on a positive note and the KSE-100 index touched the 10,747.82-point intraday high, registering an increase of 44.11 points. However, once again resistance was seen at higher levels as investors preferred to book profits.

Many leading companies like Oil and Gas Development Company (OGDCL), MCB Bank, Nishat Mills Limited and ICI announced the July-September quarter results. However, investors preferred to trim their positions after the result announcements, analysts said.

Results of heavyweight OGDCL, which announced an increase of 38.5 per cent in net profit, failed to entice investors to take new positions as the scrip was trading at expensive multiples. OGDC’s stock price fell 0.07 per cent to close at Rs152.55 during the trading session.

Banking giant MCB Bank also ended in the red zone despite announcing its financial results with earnings per share of Rs16.44 and cash dividend of Rs3 per share. The stock price fell Rs1.66 to close at Rs202.95.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 27^th, 2010.